Rival Theories of Sexual Difference with Professor Timothy Fortin

What is the nature and meaning of human sexual difference? Is it a stable reality given to us by nature and nature's God for fixed and discernable purposes that pertain to not only body and biology, but also soul and spirit? Is it an evolved (and evolving) trait best explained in terms of its capacity to prolong the survival of megalomaniacal genes? Or is it rather a kind of illusion whose appearance is held in place by social and political forces that seek to maintain their privilege and power? This talk explores the fundamental presuppositions and positions of three rival theories of human sexual difference: The Thomistic, Evolutionary, and Post-structuralist. Having summarized the conclusions and foundations of each school of thought, it reflects on how often unheeded foundational differences account for much of why we too often talk past each other, seeming to inhabit different worlds, when speaking of sexual difference.